A/N: Hello again, everyone!

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.

A shout-out to those for reviewing and reading my stories. I decided to split the chapter in two since the episode was a two-parter and make the case start ahead of Labor Day weekend.

"Whoo!" Élise entered the bedroom first, and Reid locked the door behind him. She took off her synthetic hair wig with a side z-z part straight top feather cut side and back and the cap that came with it. "That was the best salsa lesson yet."

"Indeed it was," Reid took off his jacket and tossed it in the hamper. "What else do you want to do next weekend? The class is doing some lessons on the Ländler, a folk dance that originated in Austria. Not only is it popular in the country, but also in German, Switzerland, Bavaria, and Slovenia."

Élise gasped and had her hands over her mouth. "From The Sound of Music?" she did a silent squeal. "We can so be Maria and Captain Von Trapp. It was one of the most romantic scenes ever. You don't find scenes like them anymore. Now it seems to be all about sci-fi, superheroes, and recycled ideas."

"I bet I could create a better movie," said Reid and had his hand out just as Élise got up from the bed and strolled towards him. "Want to have a steamy hot shower?"

Élise giggled.

"Mmm…" Élise chewed and swallowed a small ground cherry. She and Spencer took the children to the local farmer's market. "Babe, try one."

Reid allowed Élise to feed him a small ground cherry. Licking his lips, his eyes widened. "These are good. What are they?"

"Gooseberries," said Élise, picking up one of his toys that he had just thrown on the ground but not before cleaning it with a Lysol wipe and allowing it to dry for a few seconds. "They have this sweet and tropical but tart taste."

"Mmm-hmm," Reid's eyes caught sight of another fruit. "Brambles." He quickly read the small description. "The bramble name comes from raspberries, blackberries, marionberries; about over 200 species."

"Wow," Élise gathered some more berries and scooped them each into a plastic bag. "You know, these are hybrid fruits." She lifted the bag; to show Spencer to see what she meant. "This one is tayberries, and this one is pineberries."

"If I ever had hybrid two fruits, what do you think it would be?" Reid fiddled with Séraphine's hair. "Think it would be cool if daddy put two fruits together.

Séraphine shrugged her shoulders; Spencer giggled.

"Ooh!" Élise picked up a bulbous-looking vegetable that had two laters of stiffed leaves attached in a rosette, almost like a cabbage. "What can you use with Kohlrabi?"

Reid replied, looking at some lamb's quarters. "You're the Top Chef watcher, so maybe…oof!" he felt a thump behind his back.

"Ooh, sorry…" a middle-aged fair-skin-toned, bearded man in a polo shirt, khakis, and sneakers bumped his back against Reid's apologies; his jaw dropped. "Spencer…"

"Abel."

Élise finished wrapping some bagged Asian pears. "You two know each other?"

"From the Chess Champions hobby club," said Reid. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, thank you for asking." Abel sniffed some rosemary, and his eyes popped when he saw Élise and the children. "And this is your lovely family?"

"Abel, Élise; Élise, Abel Down."

Élise held her hand out; pumped her hand. "Nice to meet you. Our children, Séraphine and Isaac."

Séraphine flapped her hand. "Hey-yaaa…!"

Abel smiled. "Aw. Jaya and I are shopping for ingredients for a big Labor Day cookout at the house."

"Really?"

Abel shook his head. "Mmm-hmm. Would you like to come?"

"Like I said, I have a busy work schedule," Reid looked to Élise and the kids. "And we've been thinking of going out of town. But we'll let you know if anything."

Abel understood. "That's cool." He cocked his head in a different direction, and there was a semi-tall woman with dusty skin, long dark hair, and eyes, in a bohemian-styled dress and flipflops carrying a young girl who could be around Séraphine's age pushing a cart and waiting in a line. "Catch up with you later?"

"Anytime."

Élise chuckled; she and Spencer were relaxing in bed. "I can't believe there's a recipe for peanut butter burgers."

Reid joked, "Maybe we could get Séraphine to taste it and see what she thinks. She's honest."

"I can imagine it already," Élise mimicked Séraphine's grimaced face, squinting her face and sticking her tongue out. "Ew…!"

Reid giggled.

"It was still nice of him to invite us to his place for a Labor Day cookout," Élise brought up meeting Spencer's new acquaintance. "What do Abel and his wife do?"

"Abel's a professor at John Hopkins; his wife's a political scientist, and they have a little girl named Chandra."

Élise moved her shoulders up and down. "Should we go?"

"If I don't have a case, why not?"

Élise set some clothes on the bed; since summer was coming to an end in a matter of weeks, she figured to update from her summer wardrobe to her upcoming fall wardrobe and perhaps donate some of her clothes. Reid walked in, mumbling and talking to himself.

"What are you up to?" Élise asked, picking up a white tee and culottes.

Reid explained, "I'm in the middle of calculating force times distance times the coefficient of friction to determine how fast I can make a hairpin turn in a Prius."

Élise pursed her mouth to the side. "Babe, you don't have a hybrid."

"I know, but if I did, I'd want to know," said Reid.

Élise shook her head, and then an idea popped into her head. "Speaking of cars, how do you feel about updating?"

Reid spun around. "You want me to get rid of my Volvo Amazon P130?"

Élise squinted her face; her eyes widened, and her mouth made a perfect O shape. "Oh, no! Never! You don't find cars like them anymore. That was the car we rode together after our first date. The car we had after we officially became a couple. The car we had our first make-out session…"

Reid had red blushes appear on his cheeks. "Yeah, if I ever do give the kids permission to use the car when they're older, please don't tell them that."

Élise chuckled; tossed more clothes in a potential pile she'd want to give away as Reid continued. "I have read the advantages of owning a hybrid."

"Like what?" Élise still listened.

Reid listed off the benefits. "They're more eco-friendly, less dependable on fossil fuels, reduce emissions since they damage the environment, energy-effective…" he stopped when his phone vibrated loudly. He got it out of his pockets and saw a text message from Hotch.

SORRY BUT WE HAVE ANOTHER CASE ~ AH

"You have another case?" Élise guessed. "You have to come in again?"

Reid sighed when he shoved his phone into his pockets again. "Yup."

"Don't let me keep you waiting," Élise went back to organizing.

Reid smirked, had his hands on her shoulders, and kissed her cheeks. "You're a saint."

Élise made an angel's halo above her head. "When am I not?"

Reid changed into some clothes, grabbed his bags, gave everyone his love and kisses, and left the house. He ran into JJ on the way up the elevator, and they rode together. JJ told him when she got the call, she, Will, and Henry were planning an Ocean City getaway, and Reid told her about the Prius, though she reminded him he doesn't own one.

Soon, Morgan and Garcia appeared and stepped off together. Morgan told them about canceling a date he had with his neighbor.

"Is she the potential Mrs. Derek Morgan?" Reid joked.

Morgan smirked. "If I'm lucky."

"Keyword: if," Reid joked again. "For you, luck's a miracle."

Morgan gave him a sarcastic ha-ha look when Blake stepped off with her bags, hoping to see her husband in Cambridge. Garcia proposed a demanded vacation, but the four of them seriously doubted that would happen.

They greeted a leather-jacket Rossi, who made his way to Hotch's office.

"What do you think that's about?" Reid wondered.

JJ remarked, "Take a wild guess."

News of Hotch being Strauss' potential replacement following her murder at the hands of The Replicator.

Morgan groaned. "Oh, man…"

"N-no…" Garcia's voice trembled in worried fear. "He can't leave. I don't want him to leave. I'll do everything in my power to stop it from happening."

Reid sat down. "Last time I checked, Hotch warned you not to do that anymore or get fired and incarcerated."

Blake's eyes enlarged. "Do I want to…?"

"No…" everyone, minus Garcia, replied in unison.

Eventually, Hotch and Rossi walked in, and Garcia introduced the case.

Two single women were found in a park in Glendale, Arizona, sexually assaulted, shot in the heart, and left in a prayer position.

HEADING TO GLENDALE, ARIZONA TONIGHT! TELL THE KIDS I LOVE THEM! ~ SR

"Mommy…"

Élise snapped out of her trance. "Mmm…"

"Daddy…" Séraphine innocently asked.

Élise put her phone away. "Daddy's off to work."

"Ah…"

Élise rose from her seat. "Let me go check on dinner."

"KK…"

Élise walked in and helped Rose carefully take the pizza Margherita out of the oven. It was great that the family had their own little indoor pizza brick oven.

"Easy….easy…"

The pizza landed on the countertop.

"Touchdown!" Rose cheered.

"Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" Élise fist pumped like a football fan. "Please help me cut this so we don't have to face hungry toddlers."

A giggling Rose grabbed a knife from the counter drawers and cut some slices. "Here we go…"

"Thank you," Élise smiled. "Spence's in Arizona right now."

"Oh," said Rose. "I hope he could get some pummelo, shallots, and to have himself a Sonoran hot dog. It's wrapped in bacon, grilled, served on a bolillo-style hot dog bun, and topped with a bunch of southwest flavors."

Élise had her hand on her stomach. "Sounds spicy."

"It depends, yeah…" Rose agreed.

"But now I want a tamale and maybe a chimichanga…"

Rose suggested, "How about I make some tomorrow night for dinner?"

"Hallelujah," Élise grabbed the two small plates and set them in front of Séraphine and Isaac. "Here you go…"

Séraphine clapped. 'Thank you, mommy…"

"Tanks, mama…"

The team met the head of the case, Sergeant Lynee Johnson, and received news from one of her officers that another woman was found in the unsub's comfort zone.

Hotch sent Morgan and Rossi to check it out while Reid and JJ talked to her next of kin, her husband, though she was separated from him.

They discovered that she was having an affair.

"Oh, come here, my little man," Élise scooped Isaac and cuddled him in her arms. "What's up? Are you not feeling tired enough?"

Isaac blabbed. "Mama…"

"You're a mama's boy, aren't you?"

Isaac squealed and stretched. "Yeah…"

Élise kissed his temples. "You cute little boy," she whispered. "Daddy's a mama's boy as well. I bet you get it from it."

Now team got word of another but a completely different victim. And word from the medical examiner that the first two victims had skull fragments and human remains,

Even the new victim had choked on a human tongue.

That's when the team decided to deliver the profile.

Élise gave Rose a few hours to herself and was finishing up lunch for everyone. She hummed to herself, frying a corn dog in a stock pot, when she heard the phone ring on the countertop.

"Ooh!" Élise missed a close call, almost burning her hand. She answered and replied hello into the end.

"Hey, love."

Élise smiled. "Hello, Spenny…how's Arizona?"

"Freaky, to say the least," said Reid. "This unsub…are you cooking anything with tongue in it?"

"No. Corndogs with a nice salad," Élise angled her mouth aside and looked down at the two dozen mini corndogs she had on the paper towel-lined plate. "Why would…" her jaw dropped, and she closed her eyes at the sick realization. "Please don't tell me this unsub…"

Reid summed it up. "Yup."

Élise groaned disgustingly. "This is why I never liked eating offal when I was growing up."

"Though I never ate it, it's officially on my what-not-to-eat list."

Élise grimaced. "Same."

The team wondered why the unsub would make the victims eat from someone's head, and the conversation shifted to Hotch, who's shortlisted for Strauss' position.

Hotch made it perfectly clear that he would not have a stranger come in and question their every decision.

And if he does accept it, this case will be Hotch's last.

"Okay," Rose had the keys in her hands. "I'm off to the store."

Élise rose from the couch and gave Rose a folded sheet of paper, which she soon unfolded and read.

"No pork, no fish, no tongue…?" Rose squinted her eyes, wanting to know if she was reading the list right. "Why would…?"

Élise waved her hand. "You don't want to know…"

Rose winked; she got it and was on her way out the door.

Reid and JJ had a quick coffee-and-snack break outside and wondered what it would be like if Hotch accepted Strauss' position. Reid knows they'll never see much of Hotch, and a desk job will take a toll on Hotch, but JJ commented on the stability it'll have on Jack.

Reid knew JJ was right about Hotch being there more for Jack. He already knew the decision to pick work over family left him with a devastating consequence; Haley divorcing him and her death at the hands of George 'The Reaper' Foyet. Especially when they saw a police officer mother playing with her son.

That was when Reid had the reason for the unsub's obsession with the human head; all remains came from the same person.

Reid reasoned that the unsub's obsessed with the praying mantis, a creature who can kill many creatures, but the female praying mantis engages in sexual cannibalism and will bite the male even so more, which is why the unsub sees himself as one.

To him, all women are the enemy.

Élise had just finished washing, conditioning, and drying off Séraphine's hair and was almost finished with doing her hair.

"Okay…" she was finished. "Ta-da!"

Élise got her mirror and held it in front of Séraphine, and she gasped.

Her hair was now in two curly buns and a pink polka dot bow.

"Minie Mouse…" Séraphine fiddled with the bow.

Élise smiled. "Do you like it?"

"Yea!"

Garcia managed to find a name connected to the area, and a DNA match concluded that the human remains came from the same name.

Heather Clarke, a regional manager from the Phoenix area, went missing two weeks prior, and in the papers, it was announced that she was engaged to be married.

At the same time, the team got a name connected to her.

Wallace Hines, her ex-boyfriend from high school, had a restraining order against him and ended up being institutionalized for the past decade.

Élise enjoyed a nice cup of passionfruit tea in the sunroom before bed.

After a long chase off, the team finally managed to get Wallace Hines and arrest him, but they sensed something was off with the arrest.

And the call from Sergeant Johnson confirmed it.

The fingerprints from Wallace's workplace at the restaurant don't match…

…Meaning Wallace has a twin neither the police nor the team knew about.

… It also meant they messed up big time.

TO BE CONTINUED…